The Mech Touch

　　Then she began to live and work alongside the Hexers. Slowly but surely, she began to accept or at least tolerate the many beliefs and idiosyncrasies of this expeditionary force.

　　She looked up at the Valkyrie Interceptor that the Glory Seekers preferred. Compared to the base model, this variant performed significantly better in space at the cost of worse performance in planetary environments.

　　Although the designs of the Valkyrie mech line were already several years old, they were still impressive in their own right.

　　As a proud and independent Journeyman, Galina Rovon-Hartul did not easily look up to the work of her peers, but the Valkyrie mechs did not give her any other choice.

　　The living mechs were completely fascinating! Their additional properties were amazing and their ability to allow their mech pilots to form so-called battle formations was practically a game changer if it was allowed to spread!

　　What truly turned her to the Hexer cause was her frequent exposure to the glows of the Valkyrie mechs.

　　This was strange. Galina grew up in a secularist state and never took religion all that seriously. She never imagined that she could believe in a deity, but with every other Hexer alongside her professing their undying faith to the Superior Mother, she began to change her stance.

　　She always felt more confident and assured when she experienced this mysterious phenomenon. After learning more about the Superior Mother, she developed a greater understanding and connection with the glow.

　　The transition did not happen in an instant. She gradually came to believe in the Superior Mother's existence and power over many days.

　　Rewatching the archival footage where the Penitent Sisters and the Glory Seekers utilize their battle formations numerous times convinced her that the Superior Mother was not a figment of anyone's imagination.

　　Seeing both mech units employ the power of the Superior Mother against the Titania completed her conversion.

　　She had become a worshipper of the Superior Mother.

　　The Hexers were glad to see her embrace the Supreme in her life. She became a part of their sisterhood and found true belonging in them. This was much different from her past circumstances.

　　There was a reason why she was so eager to leave for the Red Ocean.

　　As her worship of the Superior Mother deepened, Galina inevitably grew more curious about her supposed 'son'. His ability to tie the Supreme to his mechs was proof of his special connection to her. His other feats and accomplishments earned her a growing amount of respect.

　　On some days, she quietly cursed Gloriana Wodin-Larkinson.

　　If Galina came across Patriarch Ves a few years earlier, perhaps she would have become the mother of his children.

　　It did not matter that she was more than a decade older than the man she was fascinated with. In fact, it might even be an advantage considering what people say about him and older women.

　　"The greatest factor that will limit our effectiveness against the alien warships is our lack of numbers." Galina continued to explain to Marshal Ariadne. "We are only able to field half as many mechs as the Cross Clan at the moment, which means our weight of fire will be substantially constrained. In addition, We do not have many mech pilots that excel in long-ranged marksmanship in our mech force. They will struggle to target the weak points of the enemy vessels as long as the range remains extreme."

　　Marshal Ariadne Wodin was well aware of this shortcoming. "We must rectify this in the future. This will not be the last time we encounter alien warships. The Red Ocean is filled with them so we must be better prepared to fight against threats of this nature."

　　"Hey, I can try my best to solve this issue, but I cannot do much without obtaining the necessary support from your parent organization." The recently-joined Journeyman asserted. "The last time we received a major supply drop from the Hexers in the new frontier was back in the Vulit Central Star Node. It's been months since then and all we have received are small batches of containers."

　　This was one of the biggest factors that determined the state of the Glory Seekers. The expeditionary force was not self-sufficient and still derived all of its funding and support from the Wodin Dynasty and other friendly Hexer organizations.

　　Marshal Ariadne knew exactly why the additional aid she applied for hadn't arrived as of yet. "I am sorry to say that we must learn to subside by ourselves for a time longer, Galina. More and more Hexer pioneers have fled the Komodo Star Sector and come to the Red Ocean, but they are mostly preoccupied with building their own colonies. Their demand for resources and funding is immense, and they are not that eager to contribute to our common cause."

　　Galina did not look surprised at all. She found the Hexers to be a lot less united once they left their big state and started anew in the new frontier. Each of them still showed interest in banding together, but they also recognized that they could have a greater say in a possible new successor state if they built up their strength during this critical early period!

　　"Well, good luck getting any support from these Hexers."

　　"They will have their reckoning sooner or later." The marshal said. "The matriarchal dynasties that wish to keep the Hexers in the Red Ocean are already starting to make adjustments. They have promised to provide us with much more substantial support in the coming months and years once their own colony settlements have attained a limited degree of self-sufficiency."

　　"Do you believe them?" Galina asked with obvious skepticism in her tone.

　　"They will if they want to stay in the good graces of the Superior Mother. Her son is a part of this fleet, so the stronger we become, the more we are able to protect him. Aside from that, it is also imperative that Patriarch Ves Larkinson continues to appreciate our presence. We cannot fall behind while the Larkinson Clan keeps building up its numbers. Every Hexer on this side of the beyonder gate will have to depend on his work to fight for a place in the Red Ocean."

　　Founding a state was not a trivial matter. The Hexers not only had to found numerous colonies in the same zone, but they also had to tie them together into a cohesive collective that was able to lay claim to all of the star systems within their stated borders with no exceptions.

　　Numerous struggles would definitely ensue!

　　As Ariadne continued to enlighten Galina of the challenges the Hexers face in founding a new state in the Red Ocean, they stopped in front of the only expert mech in the Glory Seeker mech lineup.

　　The Star Dancer Mark II was a magnificent expert mech. Designed by a Hexer Master Mech Designer, the fast and agile rifleman mech had not yet been tested in the situations it was designed to excel in. No one thought it was weak, though.

　　Venerable Brutus Wodin instantly came to attention as the pair of women approached. "Marshal. Head designer."

　　"Are you ready for battle, Brutus?"

　　"I am always ready to fight our enemies, ma'am."

　　"You do not sound that eager. Speak freely, boy."

　　Brutus grimaced. "Though I will not object to this action, I can still think. I question the necessity of attacking an alien fleet that still retains a degree of battle effectiveness. We should save our strength for more worthy battles in my opinion."

　　"Many soldiers share your sentiment." Ariadne said. "That does not change our decision. You have seen how our mech pilots are reacting to the prospect of fighting against warships, correct? Your fellow sisters are intimidated by the prospect of confronting them. They are more scared of fighting against heavily-damaged warships than entire Fridayman mech divisions. This has to change, and the best way to do that is to get it over with under controllable circumstances."

　　"I see."

　　As an expert pilot himself, he understood what the marshal was getting at. As long as the Glory Seekers successfully got past this hurdle, they would no longer exhibit an excessive degree of fear when confronting other warships in subsequent battles.

　　The presence and absence of this fear could have a large influence on the overall battle effectiveness of the Glory Seekers!

　　As long as the Golden Skull Alliance made the right bet, they could come away from this incident without suffering too many losses.

　　"Will your mech be able to play a major role in the coming battle?"

　　Venerable Brutus shook his head. "No. Do not expect too much from me. My mech excels at dueling other expert mechs. Against larger threats, my Star Dancer Mark II lacks the caliber and staying power to repeatedly burn through the thick hulls of those alien warships."

　　"We will make sure your mech can keep fighting while in the field." Galina told him. "I have already arranged a squad of mechs to carry extra energy cells and assist with any demands you might have."

　　"That will be helpful, Galina. Thank you for arranging that. It will not turn my Star Dancer Mark II into an artillery mech, sadly."

　　"We need more expert pilots and expert mechs." Venerable Brutus stated the obvious.

　　"That will be difficult to arrange." Marshal Ariadne replied. "Unlike the Larkinson Clan and the Cross Clan, we do not have many expert candidates on our pilot roster at the moment. We cannot easily ask for high-ranking pilots from the other Hexer pioneers in the Red Ocean either because they need them more. Besides, their expert pilots are highly loyal to them instead of us. The only real solution to this problem is to nurture expert pilots from within our ranks. Brutus. Give us your opinion. How likely do you think our mech pilots can break through in the near future?"

　　The expert pilot frowned in thought. "I cannot say. Our mech pilots are well-trained and eager for new challenges. What I am not as certain about is their reasons for fighting."

　　"What do you mean by that, Brutus?"

　　"Look at us." Brutus swept his hand all around. "Nominally, we are part of the Wodin Dynasty. Our initial mission was to accompany and protect my sister Gloriana. Over time, our objectives have changed, and as we have traveled further and further away from the state we came from, it is clear we have become more than just a bodyguard unit. What are we fighting for? Who are we fighting for? What is our place in the Red Ocean and who do we pledge our allegiances to? Will the other Hexers in the Red Ocean truly follow through with their commitments or will they join their other rivals in withholding support?"

　　Marshal Ariadne Wodin narrowed her eyes. "Careful, Brutus. This is dangerous talk. We are and will always be an arm of the Wodin Dynasty. Your mother and your siblings are relying on us to maintain close ties to Patriarch Ves. We have a special relationship with him and his mother and we cannot afford to drift away from the Larkinson Clan. Ultimately, we are all fighting for the Hexer cause."

　　"You are wrong, ma'am." Brutus shook his head. "We aren't fighting for the Hexers anymore. We are fighting for ourselves. There's a difference."